Abidjan , Ivory Coast -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Twelve members of former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo 's inner circle have been indicted for crimes relating to the post-electoral crisis that left over 3,000 dead .

A bloody six month stand-off ensued after Gbagbo refused to step down following a loss at presidential polls in November . So-called `` death squads '' targeted those perceived to support his opponent , Alassane Ouattara , who himself was forced to rely on U.N. protection after pro-Gbagbo soldiers surrounded his Abidjan lagoon-side hotel .

Among those charged are Gbagbo 's son Michel , former party leader Affi N'Guessan , and former prime minister Gilbert Aké N'Gbo . They had been under house arrest in various locations in the north and centre of the country .

Noël Dje , a representative of the Office of the Public Prosecutor , told CNN those indicted remain under arrest . The charges are : breach of national security , conspiring against state authority , insurrection and setting up armed groups , he said . A trial date has n't yet been fixed , Dje added .

Gbagbo and his wife Simone -- whom the United Nations says was responsible for organizing the death squads -- have n't yet been charged . Since being pulled out of a bunker beneath the presidential palace on April 11 , both have been under house arrest in the northern staunchly pro-Ouattara towns of Korhogo and Katiola . Ouattara has invited the International Criminal Court to open proceedings against them .

A high-ranking official from Gbagbo 's Ivorian Popular Front -LRB- FPI -RRB- party told CNN the charges come as a `` shock . ''

`` According to our information , everything happened out of the blue yesterday , with no warning . The various lawyers had no time to co-ordinate . Why was there no pre-trial for such massive crimes ? The whole thing makes a mockery of Ouattara 's claim to extend the olive branch , '' the official said .

Speaking on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal , the official said an emergency party meeting would be convened to discuss what `` further steps to now take . ''

The members of the inner circle and the Gbagbos are being held under a colonial-era law that allows anyone considered a threat to national security to be kept under house arrest indefinitely .

Human-rights groups say both sides committed potential crimes against humanity during the six post-electoral conflict , and have accused Ouattara 's government of implementing a one-sided justice since taking the reins of power .

`` Despite frequent promises of impartial justice , the Ouattara government has not charged anyone from the Republican Forces -- the troops that supported him in removing Gbagbo and that are now the country 's military -- for the grave crimes committed during the post-election period , '' Human Rights Watch said in a statement on August 5 .

Around 70 Gbagbo loyalists have been charged by military or civilian courts , while an international arrest warrant has been issued for Charles Blé Goudé , the leader of the pro-Gbagbo Young Patriots militia . Another international warrant has been issued against Koné Mamadou , a `` prophet '' close to the Gbagbos whose partisan `` prophecies '' fuelled a frenzy of violence in the last days of the conflict .

Ouattara Sunday said he was extending an `` olive branch '' to former members of Gbagbo 's party . Many remain in exile in Ghana and other neighboring countries .

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NEW : Gbagbo 's party calls the charges a `` shock ''

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Members of Gbagbo 's inner circle now face trial

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Charges include breach of national security , conspiring against state authority , insurrection and setting up armed groups

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Human rights groups say both sides committed potential crimes against humanity